Ao Yon Beach

Ao Yon Beach is near Cape Panwa in Phuket. It is actually two coves divided by a rocky headland. Park your car on the road and walk down one of the paths to the beach – you will come to the larger Ao Yon Beach first.

The leaning coconut palms offer shade along the narrow white sandy beach and there’s a stream running down from the hills at the extreme western end. It’s a great place for children to play in the cool water. There’s also a waterfall just a short way back from the beach.

At the eastern end of the main beach there’s a beach club known as The Cove Phuket. It has an excellent restaurant and bar with gorgeous views. There are also some small food shacks and vendors near the stream.

Ao Yon really is a quintessential tropical island beach and is very beautiful. It is in a local residential area and is popular with locals, especially in the evenings and weekends.

The smaller cove has a local shrimp farm but it is quieter and has superb views out to Chalong Bay and Koh Lon. You can hire a longtail boat for a scenic ride if you ask around, but other than that the beach has no water sports facilities, public toilets or changing rooms.

Many visitors arrive by boat and enjoy the beach as it has excellent mooring and is close to Phuket Yacht Club. The calm water is good for swimming, but there is no snorkelling. About 150m offshore there are several pearl farms and visitors should keep their distance from them.